Cyril David Mazer

Dr. Mazer is a professor in the Department of Anesthesia at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mazer also served as the Department's Vice Chair for Research from 2006 to 2015. He received his medical training at the University of Saskatchewan (MD 1978) and worked as a family physician in Inuvik, NWT (north of the arctic circle), Whakatane, New Zealand, and Cudworth, Saskatchewan before attending the University of Toronto to complete his residency in anesthesia (FRCPC 1985). He subsequently completed his fellowship training in cardiovascular anesthesia research at the University of California San Francisco and has been actively engaged in clinical practice and research in cardiac anesthesia and critical care since 1987. He has been associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, coordinator of critical care and medical director of CVICU at St. Michael's Hospital, and is currently chair of the research ethics board of St. Michael’s Hospital/Unity Health Toronto.

Dr. Mazer’s translational research has focused on improving the practice of cardiac anesthesia. His research program focuses on perioperative blood conservation, cardiac physiology and perioperative organ protection. He has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including practice guidelines and position statements related to perioperative transfusion and hemostasis from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. He was a lead anesthesia investigator in the BART trial and is currently the principal investigator for TRICS III and TRICS IV, a global study of transfusion triggers in cardiac surgery.

Dr. Mazer received both the Research Recognition Award for his contributions to research and the Gold Medal Award, the highest honor of the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society given in recognition of excellence in a career in service to anesthesiology.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Mazer's clinical and research interests include cardiac anesthesia and critical care. His basic science program has focused on perioperative blood conservation, cardiac physiology and metabolism and perioperative organ protection. He is also actively engaged in translational research as an investigator in both clinical studies and randomized controlled trials in these areas. Dr. Mazer is the co-founder of the CardioLink platform of clinical trials in patients with cardiovascular disease. He has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including practice guidelines and position statements related to perioperative transfusion and hemostasis from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. He was a lead anesthesia investigator in the BART trial and is currently the principal investigator for TRICS III and TRICS IV, a global study of transfusion triggers in cardiac surgery.

Recent Publications

1. Mazer CD, Hare GMT, Connelly PW, Gilbert RE, Shehata N, Quan A, Teoh H, Leiter LA, Zinman B, Jüni P, Zuo F, Mistry N, Thorpe KE, Goldenberg RM, Yan AT, Connelly KA, Verma S. Effect of Empagliflozin on Erythropoietin Levels, Iron Stores and Red Blood Cell Morphology in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease. Circulation. 2019 Nov 1 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.044235. [Epub ahead of print]
2. Chowdhury B, Luu AZ, Luu VZ, Kabir MG, Pan Y, Teoh H, Quan A, Sabongui S, Al-Omran M, Bhatt DL, Mazer CD, Connelly KA, Verma S, Hess DA. The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin reduces mortality and prevents progression in experimental pulmonary hypertension. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2020 Jan 21. pii: S0006-291X(20)30034-6. [Epub ahead of print].
3. Rigamonti A, Garavaglia MM, Ma K, Crescini C, Mistry N, Thorpe K, Cusimano MD, Das S, Hare GMT, Mazer CD. Effect of bilateral scalp nerve blocks on postoperative pain and discharge times in patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy and general anesthesia: a randomized-controlled trial.Can J Anaesth. 2019 Dec 26. doi: 10.1007/s12630-019-01558-7. [Epub ahead of print].
4. Wijeysundera DN, Beattie WS, Hillis GS, Abbott TEF, Shulman MA, Ackland GL, Mazer CD, Myles PS, Pearse RM, Cuthbertson BH; Measurement of Exercise Tolerance before Surgery Study Investigators et al. Integration of the Duke Activity Status Index into preoperative risk evaluation: a multicentre prospective cohort study. Br J Anaesth. 2019 Dec 19. pii: S0007-0912(19)30929-8. [Epub ahead of print].
5. Mazer CD, Arnaout A, Connelly KA, Gilbert JD, Glazer SA, Verma S, Goldenberg RM. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and type 2 diabetes: clinical pearls for in-hospital initiation, in-hospital management, and postdischarge. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2019 Dec 4. [Epub ahead of print].
6. Raphael J, Mazer CD, Wilkey A, Subramani S, Schroeder A, Abdalla M, Ferreira R, Roman PE, Welsby I, Greilich PE, Ranucci M, Heller LB, Boer C, Hill SE, Nuttall GA, Palvadi RR, Patel PA, Patel N, Wilkey B, Gaitan B, Hill SS, Harvey R, Kwak J, Klick J, Bollen BA, Shore-Lesserson L, Abernathy J, Schwann N, Lau WT. Corrigendum to 'Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) Clinical Practice Improvement (CPI) Advisory for Management of Perioperative Bleeding and Hemostasis in Cardiac Surgery Patients' [Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia 33 (2019) 2887-2899]. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2019 Nov 20. pii: S1053-0770(19)31141-3. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available.
7. Mazer CD, Whitlock RP, Fergusson DA, Belley-Cote E, Connolly K, Khanykin B, Gregory AJ, de Médicis É, Carrier FM, McGuinness S, Young PJ, Byrne K, Villar JC, Royse A, Grocott HP, Seeberger MD, Mehta C, Lellouche F, Hare GMT, Painter TW, Fremes S, Syed S, Bagshaw SM, Hwang NC, Royse C, Hall J, Dai D, Mistry N, Thorpe K, Verma S, Jüni P, Shehata N; TRICS Investigators and Perioperative Anesthesia Clinical Trials Group. Six-Month Outcomes after Restrictive or Liberal Transfusion for Cardiac Surgery. N Engl J Med. 2018 Sep 27;379(13):1224-1233. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1808561.
8. Shehata N, Mistry N, da Costa BR, Pereira TV, Whitlock R, Curley GF, Scott DA, Hare GMT, Jüni P, Mazer CD. Restrictive compared with liberal red cell transfusion strategies in cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis. Eur Heart J. 2019 Apr 1;40(13):1081-108 doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy435.
9. Mazer CD, Whitlock RP, Fergusson DA, Hall J, Belley-Cote E, Connolly K, Khanykin B, Gregory AJ, de Médicis É, McGuinness S, Royse A, Carrier FM, Young PJ, Villar JC, Grocott HP, Seeberger MD, Fremes S, Lellouche F, Syed S, Byrne K, Bagshaw SM, Hwang NC, Mehta C, Painter TW, Royse C, Verma S, Hare GMT, Cohen A, Thorpe KE, Jüni P, Shehata N; TRICS Investigators and Perioperative Anesthesia Clinical Trials Group. Restrictive or Liberal Red-Cell Transfusion for Cardiac Surgery. N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 30;377(22):2133-2144. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1711818.

Appointments

Anesthesiologist, St. Michael’s Hospital
Professor, Departments of Anesthesia and Physiology, University of Toronto
Chair, Research Ethics Board, St. Michael’s Hospital/Unity Health Toronto
Adjunct Scientist, Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital

Honours and Awards

Name:
Description:

• 2019 Gold Medal Award (Highest Recognition). Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society
• 2009 Research Recognition Award (Highest Recognition for sustained major contributions in anesthesia research). Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society.

Courses

Course Number: Supervisor and Member of Thesis committees for MSc students
Course Name: Department of Physiology, University of Toronto
Course Number: Member of Thesis Committee for PhD candidates in IMS and Physiology
Course Name: University of Toronto